Friday, September 28, 2012

I have lost all control of the monsters I draw... or pop culture is running a muck through the monster center of my brain... No matter what it is, I have drawn something very silly this week and now I am sharing it with you...

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Back in August I shared with a recent Dungeons & Dragon piece that I appeared in Dragon magazine #414, Slaves of the Oba.
Today, I have for you a look at the process that went into the giant wolf creature who is about to rip apart a poor farmer. Let's start
off with having a look at the finished piece before jumping into the
process...

Since this piece centered around a new monster that I needed to design before I illustrated it I started off with some rough creature concepts. The creature was described as being a large wolf like creature that had skin and fur only covering some of the glowing elemental / spectral / spirit monster below. This got me thinking about how much should be covered and what parts should be exposed. I created three roughs of the creature from more wolf to wolf man. I was really leaning towards option "B" and it turns out that so was production...

Thumbnails followed the concepts. I did these all at the same time and before sending anything to my AD... but since I was already leaning toward concept "B" I used that is all my thumbnails. The piece was described as having the creature just about to attack a village farmer at the edge of a forest. I instantly saw it being the creature looming over figure just moments before the poor villager was ripped limb from limb. I worked up three compositions, at the time I was really wanting to do option "B", but production picked "A". Production always has final say and I also defer to their wishes and as always it was the better choice...

Time to jump back just a little bit... Before I started the concepts or thumbnails I shot some reference photos of my friend Nicholas Rich in a bunch of poses of him reacting to a large unseen monster. I have mentioned MANY times here on the blog the importance of reference and I am going to do it again... REFERENCE REFERENCE REFERENCE!!! Nike was dropping off after we had attended a life drawing session. The whole time I was life drawing I was thinking about monster composition and working out in my head some options and angels. In the spur of the moment I asked Nick if he wanted to be about to die horribly in a painting and he was game. The street light was the perfect analog for a large glowing monster - even though it was the the wrong color light - and it all came together quickly and easily. If not for Nick I am confident this piece would not have turned out as well as it did. I would not have gotten as good or interesting of reference if I had to recreate what was naturally happening at that moment. All the visual information I needed to make the image and the figure more believable and interesting was all right there. Thanks, Nick!

Reference! Thanks, Nick!

Concepts, thumbnails, drawing, and reference all taken care of, time for the painting. Last week I talked at length about my new technique for building up my under painting. I used the same method on this piece as well. Since I had worked everything out very well in preproduction and since I had such helpful reference, this piece really came together quickly and easily. No horror stories or wrong turns (those stories are for another day). Here is an over view of the painting coming together from drawing to final...

Everything finished up I sent the piece off to my AD and it was approved without any changes, which is always the best news I can ever hear on anything I create. Being able to hit the mark on the first pass is a very real goal for me on each and every painting I create and thankfully I am still achieving this goal many more times then I am not. Here is the final piece one more time...

Monday, September 24, 2012

Geek Night 2012 has come and gone. A fun time hanging and drawing with Lee Bretschneider and Justin Peterson
as we got to talk to the students of FSU about monsters and art. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to
be back for our fourth year in a row! Enough talk, here are some picture
from the night...

Geek Night 2012 table arrangement... each year I think it gets a little better.

A close up of all the neat things everybody had to touch all night long.

Lee got himself a copy of creatura libri 3! Made sure there was a happy monster waiting inside for me... RAWR!

Here are some of the sketch cards that I drew on Friday night that I liked...

...and here are more sketch cards that I drew night night that I liked.

A blast from the past! While walking through the FSU Union courtyard I finally took a photo of something I did way back in 1999. A design based on a linoleum block print that I made won a contest to be turned into table top art back when I was a student. I got to glaze the ceramic tiles myself and now there is a concrete table in the Union that has my little alien standing on a giant tentacle in space. It has held up pretty well all things considered. I decorated a second table that is right next to this one... but it was pandering to school spirit in the hopes that I wold win... it is horrible and I will save that embarrassment for some other time... or maybe never.

A big thanks to everyone at the FSU Union Productions for having us out
again this year and to everyone that came out! I hope you all enjoy
your sketch cards and that you had a fun time. I know I did! If you
missed out on Geek Night hopefully we will have a chance to correct that next year!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday for more fun! Until then...

Friday, September 21, 2012

Tonight is the night! GEEK NIGHT 2012! If you are in north Florida stop
on by the campus of Florida State University for fun and FREE sketch
cards. Speaking of sketch cards here are some of the sketch cards that I
have ready drawn to get warmed up for tonight...

Aim for the giant red arrow and circle that appears on the HUD display.

I will be appearing again with the always talented Lee Bretschneider and Justin Peterson.
We will all be doing free sketches and talking to folks. Hope to see
you out there tonight. Just like the last three years you will also have a
chance to win a prize package! Plus video games, board games, and lots
more geeky fun!

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, hope to see you tonight at Geek Night, if not see you back here on Monday! Until then...

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Back in August I shared with you the pieces that I completed for the LoTR Battle of Lake-Town Gen Con 2012 expansion. Today, I have for you a look at the process that went into the first of those pieces that center on the great red dragon, Smaug. Let's start off with having a look at the finish piece before jumping into the process...

I think I mentioned before that there was a really fast turnaround for these and time was of the essence at every step of the way. Since I had all ready designed and done a couple illustrations of Smaug for a yet to be released Hobbit expansion my AD wanted me back to do these Smaugs as well. It was hard to say no... in fact I didn't say no, I said yes... but I had to hit the floor running to make sure that I got them all finished up on time. I started these all off as I always do with thumbnails, but most of the ideas of what these needed to be was worked out via instant message and I had a bit of elbow room to just make them cool. Instead of detailed descriptions I was given the game mechanic idea that the cards needed to convey and I went forward with the thumbnail. This first card needed to be an "area / fire attech". I knew instantly what it needed to be...

I only did the one thumbnail and it was approved. I usually do an minimum of three thumbnails for any piece, but most of the details were worked out verbally and I was confident that I was going to hit the target with the first shot. You will notice that there are two cropping boxes on the thumbnail. The small square is the proportions for the final card art that will be used while the larger rectangle shows the AD the piece I intend to make for myself. With the thumbnail approved I moved forward on the final drawing...

Even though I had already designed Smaug for a couple previous pieces I felt there was room to more flesh out my design and give the old dragon a little more room to live and breathe. I didn't change my original design, but I did add to it, flesh it out as it were. Hopefully when all the pieces are compared to one another they will feel one and the same. I had to crank out these drawings really quickly, but they were all approved to move forward and that is what I did. I was about to leave for the Illustration Master Class but I was still moving production along on these. I got the under painting completed before heading out to IMC, but to be honest I just was not happy with it and not feeling really optimistic about where the piece was heading. In fact I was a little worried that I had three dragon paintings ahead of me and not a clear focus on what I was going to do with them. Here is that first attempt on the under painting...

I have previously mentioned my ups and downs at IMC this year with my poorly timed sickness. What I might not talked about too much was the hour and a half talk I had in the studio with Peter Mohrbacher. Pete spent a little time at my computer before I collapsed and gave me some tips and suggestions on how to go about building up my paintings differently and how to get more out of my efforts. It could have been the mental fog of the sickness, but my mind was blown at what Pete showed me and my eyes were opened to the possibilities. When I returned from IMC and was back on my feet I got to work with renewed energy on three dragon paintings. Here is a progress progression of the first piece...

In the past most of my paintings would go from step 1 directly to step 5, but now I was spending more time building up a stronger value study under the color. I am not a big fan of doing digital color washes over a black and white painting. It was a method I employed early in my career and I now don't really like the look it gives. Some artists handle it beautifully, but I never felt that I did. With this new build up of layers you can use a grey scale more effectively... IMHO. The drawing is 100% the same as I have described in all my other posts, the middle grey is a multiply layer, the grey tones are a soft light layer, the color gradient is also a soft light layer, and the under painting (step 5) is a hard light layer. After this the painting is handled 100% the same as I would handle any other painting. What this new build up has giving me is a more dense, more complex color under painting that has better value and more interesting colors. Here are the two under paintings compared side by side...

The image of the left was my original under painting and the image on the right is the under painting created from this new method. Look at what the is happening with the lines from the drawing in each image and look at what is happening in the lower right corner and in the building in the foreground. The values, hues, and saturation are all much more to my liking and much stronger in the right image. By using the image on the right so much more of the guts of the piece are worked out and established and I will end up spending less time figuring things out and fighting with color and value. This has been a profound change in my work and how I go about building up my paintings. Still a lot to learn about this new method, but it already has been extremely beneficial.

Here is how the final piece appeared on the card, you can compare the cropping to my original thumbnail. As a side note, this piece actually got featured on two cards. Since I provided a larger image then I needed to the extra was turned into another card...

There is no way to know what the final painting would have looked like if I had used my previous painting process, but I feel that it would have been a greater struggle to reach the desired goal. Better results through quicker and better techniques is always nice... but I find that understanding WHY they work and WHY you are doing them is as important, if not more important.

Monday, September 17, 2012

You might remember that in my coverage of Gen Con 2012 I mentioned that the good folks at Fantasy Flight Games announced a brand new project, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG. I point this out again because one of my pieces was used as part of the announcement art... which mean I can share it with you! Here are some Star Wars monsters...

Before anyone nuts up, I know Trandoshans are not monsters, they are in fact just about my favorite Star Wars alien race (Trandoshan and Mon Calamari are tops with me!). I played a Trandoshan in Star Wars Galaxies and the only Star Wars costume I ever made for myself (with the brilliant help of my wife) was a Bossk suit. Ever since FFG announced they had the Star Wars license I had been patiently twiddling my thumbs and whispering to everyone at FFG that I needed to paint some Trandoshans ...and it finally happen! This piece is actually about the walker in the background, hence the title, AT-PT. I was up front with my art director that I was going to paint some Trandoshans and they will have the needed walker behind them... and she was totally fine with it (THANKS ZOE)!

Once the book officially comes out early next year I will of course share the remainder of my work from the book as well as share all the drawings, processes walk throughs, and goofy reference photos of me doing my best Trandoshan impression! Something to look forward to!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

Friday, September 14, 2012

It is that time again, Geek Night 2012 is almost here! Geek Night, you ask? Geek Night
is a yearly fall semester tradition at Florida State University to
help welcome students in a fun and geeky atmosphere. I will be
returning for my fourth appearance at Geek Night along with the very
talented Lee Bretschneider and Justin Peterson.
We will be creating sketch cards on the spot and giving them out to
everyone that shows up on a first come first serve basis. The last three
years have been a blast and I see this year being even better! Here is a very tiny poster with all the information...

I think it has been free for all in past years, so I am not sure what is changing, but it has been fun for everyone that has attended that I know. A free sketch card from 3 artist is definitely worth the price of admission in my books! Speaking of sketch cards, here is a sample of cards from last year so that you can get a feel for what there is in store for those attending...

If you are attending, head on over the the FSU campus and find yourself at the Union Ballroom. Here is a completely unhelpful map to assist you in your journey...

Just look for the giant red ring in the sky...

I hope to see you there if you are in the area and able to attend! The past years have been super fun and I am 2012 will be no exception. Besides the artists, I am told there will be Yearbook Pictures, Costume Contest, video games and more! For more information there is a Facebook Event and the Union Production website.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday! Until then...

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

On Monday I brought you the first part
of the miniatures that I designed for Wave 4 of the Arkham Horror
Monsters. Today I have for you the final three monsters from the set, the Serpent People, Servant of Glaaki, and Spectral Hunter. Here are the miniature turnarounds...

I took some pictures of the miniatures so you can compare how the finals
turned out compared to my designs. I think they
turned out pretty well! Sorry that some of the images are a little fuzzy, they looked good at the time I took them. But you should be able to get a ...

Serpent People

Servant of Glaaki

Spectral Hunter

Here is a group shot of the five miniatures I designed for wave 4 hanging out in the garden... doing monster things... thinking monster thoughts...

Arkham Horror Monsters - Wave 4

(Just mine, this is not all of them)

With the release of wave 4 this brings the number of available monsters designed by me to 17! This leaves just one left and I guess I just need to continue to be patient. The remaining miniature is one of the very first ones that I designed and the one that I have been most interested in seeing as a miniature. It should be a big mini and I put a lot of work into the turnaround. I have been waiting since 2009, I can wait a little longer for my personal complete set! Here is a shot of all 17 of the monster miniature that I was responsible for designing... GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL!

Arkham Horror Monsters - Waves 1 - 4

(Just mine, this is not all of them)

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Friday! Until then...

Monday, September 10, 2012

Wave 4 of the Arkham Horror Monsters - Premium Figures are now available over on the Fantasy Flight Website.
I mention this fact because I designed five of the miniatures in this
new set! The monster in the set I was responsible for are the Child of Abhoth, Being of Ib, Serpent People, Servant of Glaaki, and Spectral Hunter. Today I have for you the first two the the set, Child of Abhoth and Being of Ib. Here are the miniature
turnarounds...

I took some pictures of the miniatures so you can compare how the finals
turned out compared to my designs. I have really been looking forward to both of these finally being turned into miniatures. I think they turned out pretty well! See
for yourself...

Child of Abhoth

Being of Ib

As mentioned in my previous posts about this miniatures, I designed these all way back in 2009. I have some very distinct memories of working on the additional views of the Being of Ib... but that is a conversation for another time. I will have for you on the Wednesday the remaining three miniatures that I designed for this set, the Serpent People, Servant of Glaaki, and Spectral Hunter.

That is all for another exciting Monday, see you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

Friday, September 7, 2012

My drawings are precious to me and I do my best to protect them... like carring a huge stack of them around with me all the time (seriously). Even with my best efforts I am aware that through the course of their existence that the drawings could encounter some dangers. Speaking of which, I recently had a monster drawing receive some some water damage. I thought it was a lost cause, but a nice old lady told me she could restore the drawing good as new...

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Last month (August) a new article in Dragon magazine #414, The Vale of the Inner Sun,
went up on the Dungeons & Dragon website and I contributed a piece
to the article! I have never been quite about my dislike of Elves, so when I had a chance to mutate one into a Foulspawn I was super exccited! Here is how the piece turned
out...

This piece is depicts some of the potential horrors that could arise from earthquakes deep underground as they release the foul creatures below. Or I am completely wrong since I have not had a chance to read the article. All I know is there are underground earthquakes and mutated Elf Foulspawn monsters coming out of caves... and they most likely will say 'RAWR'. When I am assigned to create a new mutated Elf monster covered in blood and standing in front of a cave apparently the first place my mind goes is... MAGENTA. When I do process post for this piece you will get to see all the magenta goodness and how I fixed it. It really did seem like a good idea at the time... but I am getting ahead of myself... Check back in the coming weeks to see what the heck I am blathering about! As always, I would like to thank Kate Irwin for involving me on this project and for her art direction ...and for being patient with my color choices!

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Friday! Until then...

Monday, September 3, 2012

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table.
This time around it is a Carrion Crawler! "C" has a lot to choose from still, so on this third time around it was a little hard to pick a winner. I have already received some requests for some that people would like me to do, but I had already started this one, so on the fourth pass. On this third pass it was hard to not pick the giant crazy insect beast that wonders through cave eating the dead and attacking the living. I present
to you
my version of a Carrion Crawler...

I have been looking at a lot of grubs and larvae images recently and it seemed like a good fit for the redesign of the Carrion Crawler. It already has tentacles, so it was darn near perfect where it was, so I just wanted to flesh it out and maybe bring a bit more realism to the beast. I thought it would be interesting if it had all its feet in the front dragging the huge bloated form behind. Unfortunately, someone pointed out after the fact that this design reminded them of a creature they have seen before... which I can now kind of see... which bums me out. Not that there is really any new ideas out there... but I wish I had caught it earlier. I think once it is in color it will feel a lot more different.

About Me

I began my career designing special makeup effect for movies and television. Some of the television shows I worked on including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly.

Currently I work in the gaming industry illustrating and designing monsters. I have done work with
Wizards of the Coast, Fantasy Flight Games, Paizo Publishing, Privateer Press, and AEG (just to name a few) on various book, card and miniature gaming products.